Time piece



March 29, 1960 G. NUSSLE 2,

TIME PIECE Filed Feb. 24, 1958 :5 Shee ts-Sheet 1 March 29, 1960 G. NUSSLE 2,930,183

TIME PIECE Filed Feb. 24, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fla. 3

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I fwd/name All/L5 I Aft-MP S e Pa e O W TIME PIECE Guillaume Nussl, La Chaux-de-Fo'nds, Switzerland Application February 24, 1958, Serial No. 717,268 Claims priority, application Switzerland July 9, 1957 Claims. (Cl. 58-1 25 My invention has for its object a time-piece comprising a rotary disc indicating the seconds and two endless strips indicating the hours and the minutes respectively.

Said time-piece is characterized by the fact that a pointer or mark cooperating with the second-indicating disc is controlled by a mechanism imparting thereto a reciprocating movement which urges it away from the disc and returns it towards the latter at a rhythm of sixty cycles per minute.

Accompanying drawings illustrate by way of example two preferred embodiments of my invention.

The first embodiment is illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3; Fig. 1 being a plan view thereof, Fig. 2 a plan view on a larger scale of a portion of the watch and Fig. 3 a sectional view through line III-III of Fig. 2.

The second embodiment which forms a modification of said first embodiment is illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5; Fig. 4 being a partial plan view thereof on a larger scale and Fig. 5 a cross-section through line V-V of Fig. 4.

The first embodiment illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3 is constituted by a wrist watch the case of which is designated by 10, the hour-indicating ribbon or strip by 11, the minute-indicating strip by 12, while the second-indi cating disc is shown at 13, the watch movement at 14, the toothed drums lying laterally of the disc and movement to drive the indicating strips at and 16 respec tively and the transmission drums at 17 and 18 at the other end of said mechanism.

These drums are provided with spindles revolubly carried in bearings constituted by two lugs 19 between each two cooperating drums and by two flanges 20 formed along the edges of a plate 21 carrying said lugs and secured to the upper part of the watch movement, said flanges extending on the outside of the system of drums.

The mechanism transmitting the movement of the cannon wheel 22 to the time-indicating strips 11 and 12 is fitted between said plate 21 and the upper plate 23 carried by small uprights 24a and 2412 which are rigid with the lugs 19 and are formed in one with the latter. The seconds-indicating disc 13 and the pointer 25 cooperating therewith are located above said upper plate.

The mechanism transmitting movement from the cannon wheel 22 to the strips 11 and 12 includes two kinematic chains controlled respectively by the pinion 26 and by the wheel 27 forming together a gear driven, with slight friction, over the cannon wheel spindle 22 and revolving inside a circular opening 21a formed in the lower plate 21. I

The pinion 26 drives the wheel 28 revolubly secured to a spindle 29 riveted to the plate 21, said wheel 28 driving a further wheel 30 revolving round a bearing member constituted by the upright 24b; said wheel 30 meshes in its turn with a toothed wheel 31 rotating in unison with the drum 16. The speed reduction of this kinematic chain 2630 is such that for each revolution of the cannon pinion 22 the strip 11 progresses by a minute is not 2,930,183 Patented I Mar. 29, 1960 distance equal to the interval separating two successive time scale subdivisions.

On the other hand, the wheel 27 meshes with the pinion 32 of a gear revolving round a sleeve 33 rigid with the edge of the opening 21a in the plate 21, while the wheel 34 of said gear meshes with a wheel 35 revolubly carried in a manner similar to that described for the wheel 28, said wheel 35 driving the drum 15 through a couple of wheels 36 and 37 similar to that formed by the wheels 30 and 31. The speed ratio of the last-described kinematic chain is such that the strip 10 subdivided into successive intervals corresponding to one minute executes in synchronism with the cannon pinion 22 a complete progression along its path in one hour.

'An essential feature of this watch resides in the fact that the pointer 25 cooperating with the disc 13 carrying a scale of sixty seconds and executing one revolution per stationary after the manner of the marks or pointers 38 and 39 cooperating with the strips 11 and 12, but is controlled by a mechanism imparting to it a reciprocating movement which shifts it towards the disc 13 and away from the latter at the rhythm of sixty cycles per minute or one reciprocation per second.

This mechanism controlling the pointer 25 includes a ratchet wheel 41 provided with sixty teeth, carried by the spindle 40 of the second-indicating disc and cooperating with a catch 42 the tail-end of which is clamped between the free end of a spring blade 43 and an abut ment pin 44. These two latter parts are secured to the lower surface of the upper plate '23, while the catch 42 is fitted on a spindle 45 extending through the sleeve 33 and rockably mounted between the plates 21 and 23. The upper end of said spindle 45 is provided with two arms of which one carries the pointer 25 and the other the small counterweight 46 (Fig. l).

The operation of this last-mentioned mechanism is as follows:

Every second, the nose of the catch 42 is raised by a tooth of the ratchet wheel 41 against the action of the elastic blade 43, after which it drops under the action of said blade onto the flank of the following tooth, which has for its result to impart to the pointer 25 a reciprocating movement urging it towards the disc 13 and away from the latter at the above-mentioned rhythm of sixty cycles per minute.

The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment described solely by the fact that the mechanism imparts a rectilinear reciprocating movement to the pointer 25. The various parts of this mechanism are fitted between a plate 21 rigid with the movement, a bridge 50 and an upper plate 23.

Said mechanism controlling the pointer comprises a gear including two coaxially rigid toothed wheels 51 and 52 keyed to the spindle 53 revolubly carried in the plates 21 and 23. The wheel 51 is provided with a normal series of teeth meshing with the teeth of a wheel 54 coaxially rigid with the seconds-indicating disc 13. On the other hand, the wheel 52 forms a ratchet wheel, as shown in Fig. 4; the teeth on said wheel 52 cooperate with the end of the rod 55 adapted to slide diametrically of the wheel inside a guiding member 56 secured to the bridge 50, against the action of a spring 57.

The further end of the rod 55 carries the pointer 25 which lies together with the disc 13 in the plane of the upper plate 23 inside a shaped opening 58 provided in the latter. The ratchet wheel 52 is provided with sixty teeth and executes one revolution per minute in synchronism with the second-indicating disc 13.

The operation of said mechanism is as follows:

Once per second, the rod 55 is pushed outwardly against the pressure of the spring 57 by the flank of a tooth of the wheel 52 after which it drops back against the flank of the following tooth under the action of said spring 57; this has for its result to impart to the pointer 25 a reciprocating longitudinal movement, which moves it towards andaway from the disc 13 sixty times per minute. i

What I claim is:

1. In a time-piece including a movement, the combination of a seconds-indicating disc provided with a peripheral scale and controlled by the movement, a pointer cooperating with the scale on said disc and radially shiftable with reference to the latter and a mechanism controlled by the movement and imparting to said pointer a reciprocating movement in a substantially radial direction at a rhythm of 60 cycles per minute.

2. In a time-piece including a movement, the combination of a seconds-indicating disc provided with a peripheral scale and controlled by the movement, a

pointer cooperating with the scale on said disc and g radially shiftable with reference to the latter, an arm carrying said pointer and .pivot'ally mounted-round an axis parallel with the axis of said disc, and means whereby the movement imparts a rocking motion of a small amplitude to said arm round its axis to make said pointer reciprocate substantially in a radial direction with reference to the scale of the disc at a rhythm of 60 reciprocations per minute towards and away from the periphery of said disc.

3. In a time-piece including a movement, the combina tion of a seconds-indicating disc provided with a pcripheral scale and controlled by the movement, apointer cooperating with the scale on said disc and radially shiftable with reference to the latter, an arm carrying said pointer and pivotally mounted round an axis parallel with the axis of said disc, asixty tooth ratchet wheel coaxially rigid with the seconds-indicating disc, a catch coaxially rigid with said pivoting arm, controlled by said ratchet wheel and adapted to be shifted away from the ratchet wheel at each passage of a tooth in registry with the catch, and means resiliently urging said catch back 4 into engagement with the ratchet wheel after each such shifting to provide a radial reciprocation by a small angle of the pointer and arm at a rhythm of cycles per minute.

4. In a time-piece including a movement, the combination of a seconds-indicating disc provided with a peripheral scale and controlled by the movement, a pointer cooperating with the scale on said disc and radially shiftable with reference to the latter, a rod carrying said pointer and extending along a line radial with reference to the axis of the seconds-indicating disc, and means whereby the movement imparts a reciprocating motion to said rod and pointer along said line at a rhythm of 60 reciprocations per minute.

5. In a time-piece including a movement, the combination of a seconds-indicating disc provided with a pcripheral scale and controlled by the movement, a pointer cooperating with the scale on said disc and radially shiftable with reference .to the latter, a sixty-tooth ratchet wheel coaxially rigid with the seconds-indicating disc, 'a rod rigid with the pointer, extending along a diameter of said disc underneath the latter and engageable by the teeth of the ratchet wheel to be urged outwardly by the latter in succession and a spring urging said fed back into engagement with the ratchet wheel to provide in association with the action of the teeth of said ratchet wheel a short reciprocatory movement of the pointer on the rod radially of the seconds-indicating disc at a rhythm of 60 cycles per second.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,776,001 Konigsberg Sept. 16, 1930 1,792,435 McLeary et al Feb. 10, 1931 1,851,982 Parker Apr. 5, 1932 V FOREIGN PATENTS 150,975 Switzerland Feb. 1,-1932 

